Love is a Firefly
by Robotic Mind
Summary: A firefly in the twilight. A simple, miraculous thing. [NaruSasu, fluff][oneshot]


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

It was a warm spring evening, the weather resembling more that of summer than the May twilight it now was. A peaceful calm had fallen over the town, the people returning to a place of comfort that seemed so familiar but had been forgotten over the harsh winter. Even training had been a little more relaxed, and many of the teenagers went out simply having fun. Kakashi especially had been less strict on his pupils, and had let them stop their spars early in the evening.

Sasuke had immediately made a move to go home at the end of their session, deciding to train more once he got back to the empty home. Nobody was there any more to offer a warm welcome, to fill him with friendship. An emptiness filled his gut whenever he returned to the large, echoing mansion. He kept his mind in check with harsh training, working until he was too tired to notice that sinking feeling in his stomach when he passed the kitchen that had once held his cheerful mother, making him dinner. He ignored the empty rooms almost bitterly, and always retired to his bed with an empty mind, intent on never thinking about what happened before he drifted off to sleep.

His team mates, however, seemed to have a different plan. Sakura stared at him almost imploringly as he excused himself to leave, begging him silently to stay. Even Naruto wanted a few extra moments together as a team.  
"Yo, teme!" the loud-mouth blond cried. "You don't always have to leave right away!" Sasuke ignored him, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'obnoxious' and 'annoying.' However, Naruto was not one to give up so easily. "Look around you. What do you see?" he inquired, his gleeful tone containing the sound of an innocent child. Both Sakura and Sasuke looked around the field, almost confused.  
"A field, baka," Sasuke answered curtly, wondering to himself what Naruto was getting at.

"Um…lots of fireflies," said Sakura, still looking around at all the lights glimmering in the spring dusk.

The field was, indeed, filled with fireflies. Illuminated by blinking luminescence, the training area looked almost magical. The bugs filled the air, flashing like tiny stars.

"Exactly!" cried Naruto joyfully. "Let's catch some!"

Sasuke honestly couldn't believe the stupidity of the blonds statement. Shock barely had time to register on the brunettes face when Sakura voiced his opinions herself.  
"That is the STUPIDEST thing I have ever heard! What are you, five?!" Her voice filled the field, breaking the enchanting calm that had once been there. Proud of herself for saying what Sasuke was bound to say, despite his expression not changing at all, she smirked almost maliciously at the stuttering blond. "Well, fine!" he huffed, arms crossed over his chest. "If you don't want to then just go home!"  
With that, she walked off, flicking her hair over her shoulder and 'humph'ing to herself. "Gosh, who does he think he is…" she mumbled under her breath.

Sasuke started to turn to walk home, but Naruto caught him with an imploring gaze

"Sasuke? You're leaving, too?"

"Of course," the boy answered. Naruto, desperate now for companionship in the near empty field, voiced his upset.   
"Aww, c'mon teme! Just for one minute! I want to show you something!"  
Despite Sasuke's want to go home, and despite the fact his brain was ordering his feet to move, he stayed locked in place. What could that stupid dobe want to show him? With a slight nod of his head, he indicated to Naruto he was waiting, but not for long. Giving a big, goofy grin to his friend, Naruto ran off into the field. The idiot was running back and forth, chasing the lights, and clapping his hands around now empty darkness. Sasuke tapped his foot impatiently, wondering just what the loud-mouth found so entertaining about blinking bugs.

Proudly, Naruto all but skipped back to his friend, his hands clasped loosely around something.

"Look at this!" he proclaimed, stopping just far enough away from the other boy that his hands could fit between their stomachs. Disgusted with the closeness of somebody he claimed to hate, Sasuke began to take a step back, but stopped when a dim glow lit up the others hands from within his grasp.

It's funny something as simple as a firefly could be so captivating, but Sasuke's gaze was held by the faintly glowing light. As it began to fade, both boys continued to stare at the hands, waiting for another period of shining from within the hands. The same tranquil feeling of before settled over the boys, and a connection of understanding held them close together, barely breathing.

"It's beautiful," Naruto whispered, his voice soft and a stark contrast to his usual barking tone.  
"The males flash their lights to attract females." Another period of dim glowing. "The females go to the light, and then they mate." The light faded. "It's amazing they can find love from something so simple. A small flash of light, and they instantly know." Glowing.

Sasuke raised his eyes to Naruto, whose sparkling blue ones reflected the yellow from the firefly.  
"Entrancing," he whispered, without his normal biting sarcasm.

The hands opened slowly to reveal a trapped beetle, crawling on the inside of the thumb. Both boys held their breath, amazed at how such a plain, ordinary thing such as the beetle could represent such a miracle like love. Two pairs of eyes followed it as it flew away, continuing its search for a mate.

"Cool, huh?" Naruto said, breaking the silence and taking a step back from Sasuke, now that there was nothing between them to hold their attention.

"Yeah." They walked their separate ways, but both minds were stuck on the glimmer of the firefly, and how it shone in the others eyes.


End file.
